New under-18s head coach Inigo Calderon might be one of the few ex-players that prefers working life after hanging up their boots.
Inigo won promotion from League One with us in 2011, before going onto play in the Championship with us until 2016.
He continued his playing career in Cyprus and India, but believes his time coaching young players – having previously done so with Alaves in Spain – is a lot more enjoyable than the day-to-day life of a professional footballer.
“I prefer to coach than play, I don't think that too many people say that because they enjoy playing too much,” Calderon said.
“I enjoyed playing, but I felt it was more about not making a mistake than you really enjoying playing football.
“A coach’s role I feel is 24/7 and when you're a player it’s just training and after that you have to rest. When you're a coach you have so many things going on. All the time you’re thinking about football and for me that's why I love it.
“I get up so excited now, at six o'clock in the morning I am already awake. As a footballer you cannot do that, you have to just rest and train to maybe play or not, two hours training a day, but being a coach is 24/7.”
It’s not just the way he sets up his team that keeps Calderon motivated.
“It's not just about tactics, I love them, but it is a lot as well about how you manage.
“Football is a team sport but coaching is even bigger, because all the players wants to play, everybody has their own thing going on and you have to deal with them.
“And after that, you have staff to manage and all these things to create a good atmosphere. I love this part, the personal and social side of this is what I love, to try to get the best of everyone, including myself.
“That's a great challenge because otherwise it will be too easy, you could just read a book and you’d know the tactics and know how to be a leader. But it's not a book. It's not easy, but I really love it.
“It’s a tricky time for some of the young players. It might be the first time they are away from their family homes. It’s a first experience for them and it’s at a young age. So that's not easy for them and you have to think about how you manage the situation, because sometimes they think they think they are really Premier League footballers and they are not.
“Things can happen on the pitch, but a lot of things happen off it that you have to try to control and manage and that is the project, I love that aspect the most.
“The balance of the development of the players and the results we want has to be on the same level.
“At the end of the day, it's about trying to develop players who can get into the first team, but it’s also about trying to get the best result for the team which is what the focus of the first team is.”